Does the launch of Google's Nexus One indicate a changing Mobile ecosystem?
In the last two weeks Google have launched their Android handset, the Nexus One. This is the event that many folks in the know are tipping to be the trigger of Google’s challenge to the dominance of Apple in the smartphone, App and Mobile Web market. Google have shipped 20,000 handsets in the first week with a cover price over of $500 for an unlocked handset (ie not tied to any network).
Then Vodafone come along and launch the iPhone in the UK last week and what happens...?
Well, Vodafone have a sales figure in the UK of 50,000 on day One. Vodafone stress that this was not first day sales, however, but a figure for the number of people who had pre-ordered the device. The phones were shipped out to customer's homes, or to stores for collection. Vodafone says it may release figures for sales of the iPhone, in the week since it officially launched, in a week or so.
The Vodafone figures are substantially higher than the 30,000 iPhone's shipped on Orange’s launch day in November. And both Orange's and Vodafone's iPhone launches were each much larger in units-shipped terms than Nexus' 20K in Week One, globally.
So, does that mean Apple continues to have the smartphone-market sewn-up? I think not. But it does mean that the barrage of popular media exposure over the last year or two won’t go away just because Google launched a handset (in the US). I think Apple still have a good year or two of dominance even if the Nexus One does prove to be the best thing since sliced bread.
In the longer term, Google and Android will be significant players in the smartphone market. Multiple manufacturers have reported that Android phones are on the way including up to five from Motorola this quarter and a number from Samsung this year. Google also has a number of handsets in for testing and should be rolling them out after the Nexus One.
